1. Today, the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day of its year, marked at 22:03 GMT, known as the Winter Solstice.
45 Chinese FactsIf they were countries, the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan and Jiangsu would be among the world’s 20 most populous.
152 Earth FactsLake Baikal in Russia is a thousand times older than any other lake on Earth.
Egyptian FactsAn Egyptian cure for insanity was to eat snake meatballs under a full moon.
34 Britain FactsThe name sign of the town of Lost in Aberdeenshire is the only one in Britain that is welded to its pole.
49 Roman FactsThe sign for the female sex (C) represents the hand mirror of the Roman goddess Venus.
78 English FactsThe English word ‘squirrel’ is particularly difficult for Germans to pronounce.
41 French FactsIn the French Revolution, prisoners were taken to the guillotine on wagons used to transport manure.
Antarctic FactsThe world’s largest iceberg set off from Antarctica in 2000. It was larger than Jamaica and parts of it still haven’t melted.
Europe Facts80% of pirates caught by the European Union’s naval police are released.
